November 16, 2013

If you are a raven lover and like this site, please visit my newest site at http://www.uncommonraven.com. There is more of everything about these clever birds, more facts and photos. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think.

August 12, 2012

I am still working on getting this book published. I have changed the title to “The Un-Common Raven: one smart bird.” I had to add the hyphen because the book is basically about the Common Raven, the most successful of raven species in North America. They live predominantly in the West in the U.S, but are making a comeback in the East and South again. I was really excited that John Marzluff, a well-known professor at U. of Washington and author of three raven books himself, agreed to review the copy and made some helpful changes to insure accuracy of the contents. Professor Marzluff conducted the now famous experiment of crows on the school campus:
“For his study about crow fledgings, Marzluff and his students put GPS trackers on them in order to follow their whereabouts on campus. The mother and father crows yelled loudly at them, and even flew at them. Eventually, the crows recognized their faces. As they walked around campus, the crow parents would dive down at the students, cawing excitedly. They soon couldn’t walk on campus without attracting these angry birds. Once Marzluff and his students wore masks over their faces to hide their identity, the birds no longer bothered them.”
This kind of thinking has earned this species a place as one of the smartest animals in the world, after humans and chimpanzees. If you want more raven facts, my book will be out before year’s end (I hope).

Common Ravens call the Grand Canyon home. They entertain visitors with their aerial antics and begging for food (they’ll eat anything).

Here’s a successful hunter at the Canyon (he begged some nuts from the author).